Number of ticket scams has doubled in a year, warns Santander

A major bank has issued a warning about ticket scams after the number of cases it has dealt with has more than doubled this year so far compared with the same period in 2022.

Santander said that, between the start of this year and the end of July, the number of ticket scams reported by its customers has more than doubled from 789 to 1,905 from the same period last year. The average claim was for £107.

Ticket scams happen when a criminal sells someone a ticket that is fake or does not exist. Sales are often advertised on social media or through fake websites, Santander said.

Customers aged between 19 and 34 have accounted for the bulk of reports Santander has dealt with, but those aged 35 and older have typically reported bigger losses, at £194 on average.

Ticket scam victims aged 13 to 34 reported losses of £77 on average.

Common claims involved bogus sales of concert and festival tickets, with fake tickets for football games and flights also being reported to Santander.

Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander, said: “Whether buying tickets for your favourite artist, the Rugby World Cup, or your football team, don’t score an own goal by getting scammed.

“If anybody has been contacted by a stranger or sees an advert online with a deal that seems too good to be true, it may be exactly that. People should be alert to potential scams and only buy tickets from official ticket sellers.”

Here are some tips from Santander to stay safe from ticket scams:

– Always buy tickets through trustworthy official sellers and websites.

– Consider payment methods that may offer more protection if something goes wrong, such as credit cards.

– Always buy football tickets direct from the football club.

– When buying online, check the payment pages are secure by looking for the padlock symbol in the address bar. The website should start with “https”.

– Scammers often pretend to be offering tickets to highly popular and sold-out events. In some cases, the price being asked may also seem cheaper than you would expect to pay. Remember that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is.